Green Bay GM said it would be "foolish" to put timetable on Miami playoff berth

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin got a vote of confidence from his former boss, Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson, last week at the Senior Bowl. And Dolphins fans got some stern advice.

Asked how Philbin, the former Packers offensive coordinator, did in his first season as Dolphins head coach, Thompson said Philbin did a good job and added it “looks like they’ve kind of gotten things turned around.”

Philbin led the Dolphins to a 7-9 record last season, a one-game improvement over the 6-10 mark of 2011.

Thompson, the architect of the Packers’ Super Bowl championship team three years ago, said during the season Philbin showed some of the characteristics that qualify him to be a good head coach.

“He’s a good judge of character, and he’s a good man of quality and integrity himself,” Thompson said. “I think you have to have those qualities as a leader.”

Thompson wasn’t surprised to learn many Dolphins remarked about Philbin’s organizational skills during their late-season comments about the rookie coach.

“He’s always going to be organized,” Thompson said. “He’s always going to be prepared and have his players that way. That’s the way he was with us.”

Despite those qualities, Philbin couldn’t get Miami to the playoffs. The Dolphins missed the postseason for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, a feat that puts them in bad company.

Only Buffalo (no playoff berth in the last 11 years) is worse. Cleveland, Detroit and Oakland (one berth apiece) are just as bad as Miami.

Although Dolphins fans feel a sense of urgency to get to the postseason, Thompson warned against putting, say, a two- or three-year timetable on Philbin leading their team to the playoffs.

“I think that’s silly,” Thompson said. “I don’t think people understand how hard it is to win in the NFL. You have to have an appreciation for that.

“Obviously, the bottom line in our business is winning and you’ve got to win, but to put some arbitrary timetable on it, I think, is foolish.”